Today we’re really stepping into French mode, and we’re going to learn 11 expressions, that we use every day, to complain about stuff.
It’s a way of life. It’s just something we do everyday. It’s a huge part of our culture, We complain verbally.
J’en ai marre
which means I’m tired of this. I’m fed up with this.
Ça me saoule
which also means this annoys me. I’m fed up with this. So let’s say something didn’t go as planned. And now you’re stuck or let’s say don’t want to do something. You can be likeça me saoule, this bores me. I’m fed up with this.
Ça me fait chier
Some phase shift which means it annoys me it pisses me off. It’s a little vulgar though. So only use this in front of friends.
C’est relou
Relou it’s actually slang. It’s actually the word Lourd said backwards and it’s a word that people use in their teens are in their 20s. Mostly, it’s basically something that you’ll use whenever you don’t want to do something or something is just like UUUHH..
Merde
The French slang word merde has more meanings than meet the eye. Literally, it refers to sh** (feces), and is used like its equally vulgar English counterpart.
Je suis dégoûté(e)
This literally means I’m disgusted, but that’s not what we mean, whenever we use this expression, it’s more of an expression that we use to convey disappointment. Let’s say you worked really hard on the paper and then you didn’t get a good grade in the end you could je suis dégouté(e). Like I’m so upset. I’m so disappointed.
Fait chier // C’est Chiant
Chiant(e) is the adjective derived from the verb chier which is a vulgar way to say ‘to crap’ or ‘to shit’. But despite this chiant isn’t quite as offensive or distasteful as you might think.
It is frequently used in conversation to describe something as ‘really irritating’, ‘really annoying’ or in more extreme slang ‘a pain in the ass’.
For example you could say, Ce film est super chiant, ne va pas le voir. – This film is super annoying, don’t go and see it.
C’est nase / naze
which mean very bad, broken beyond repair or lacking worth.
For example:
Quand tu sais que tu ne sais pas jouer au foot. tu dis je suis nase.( when you know you can’t play soccer, I’m bad.)
Ras-le-bol
This is one of those expressions that doesn’t really have an exact English translation, although its general sense is also that of being fed up, despondent, gloomy or annoyed.
It can be used both to say that you are fed up and to describe a general sense of gloom over a group or even an entire country.
So you could say J’en ai ras-le-bol de ce travail! – I’m fed up of this job
Casser les couilles // Ça casse les couilles
Casser means “to break” and couilles means “balls.” (Yup, those ones.) The phrase refers to people or situations that are seriously vexing.
Putain
Interestingly for a word that’s generally translated into English as f*ck, you can use putain for relatively mild grumbling, sighing Ah, putain! as the queue in the post office fails to move, or Oh putain as you accidentally hit the wrong button on your computer.
But if you want to ramp it up, it’s all in the emphasis – Putain! Fait attention imbecile! – F*ck! Be careful you moron! at the motorist who has failed to observe priorité à droite and narrowly avoided hitting you.